Dominant Indian Batsmen Silence Critics

At the start of the ongoing India-Pakistan test series there was enormous pressure and a little temptation among selectors and typical media speculation surrounding the inclusion of in-form Yuvraj Singh in the playing eleven. And with two days into the second test, the two men under the cloud Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman proved their worth for yet another time in the test team with some brilliant and breadth taking stroke play displaying authority on the field.

Sourav Ganguly before the second test said, it was his dream to score a century in his home ground. The stage was perfectly set for ‘the Prince of Kolkata’ with India already scoring 300 runs as he walked in. with less than an hour to go on the first day’s play, he played with caution and the next morning he made his presence felt with some trademark dada drives- Godly! - on the off-side. He wasn’t reluctant to put his bat to the bouncers as he pulled Shoaib Akthar and Mohmmad Sami for boundaries with ease.

If Sourav was ‘Son of the soil’, on the other end partnering him for the fifth wicket was VVS Laxman once again proved that he is ‘Lord of Eden Gardens’ as one of the banners in stands claimed. It is always a delight to watch Laxman playing his ‘very very special’ on drive against the leg spin and this time Dainsh Kaneria fell victim to his beautiful wrist work. The duo put on 163 run stand before Ganguly sacrificed his wicket trying to hit his trademark lofted six over long on to satisfy his everlasting fans who have undefined love for him.

Before all this the stage belonged to the Mumbai boy, well if your guess is Sachin Tendulkar it’s not. But it was Wasim Jaffer who stole the show on first day with elegant stroke play including 34 hits to the fence filled with attractive cuts and pulls and gorgeous drives on both sides. The flow of runs was never in question when he was at crease as he maintained a 100% testimony in punishing the loose balls for fours. Playing around him was Rahul Dravid putting on 136 runs for second wicket and Sachin Tendulkar adding 175 for the third wicket taking India to a position of strength.

The first day of second test was one of those rare occasions where Sachin Tendulkar when in full form was overshadowed by relatively inexperienced Jaffer. However, it was a pleasure to watch Indian batting dictating terms to the opposition.

If the exhibition at Kolkata is dominant, in Delhi it was efficient enough to make amends. Though few big names in the Indian batting failed in the first innings, Laxman and Dhoni took India to safety before captain Kumble along with the Hydrabadi made sure India take some sizeable lead in the first innings. Laxman silenced his critic with a help of patient and unbeaten 72 runs. After a deadly display by Indian bowlers led by skipper Anil Kumble, Wasim Jaffer provided India with a good start chasing a moderate total followed by Tendulkar and Ganguly show who did good for themselves by scoring handful of runs. Ganguly calmed the nerves in the dressing room by some aggressive batting taking India closer to victory before stumps on the fourth day.

As Test captain for the first time Anil Kumble draw lot of praise from the former captains including the ones in the team. His move to bring Sourav Ganguly to bowl with the new ball on fourth day morning was a master stroke fetching him two wickets. He shuffled the bowlers well as one would expect from him and his field placements were accurate.

And for Yuvraj, he might be at the form of his life but it is certain that it is not enough to open the doors in the playing XI. And the scenario was rightly articulated by Anil Kumble. "I think Laxman's knock was very crucial considering the circumstances. He's a fantastic player and his partnership with Dhoni was very critical for us. I don't know why there is always a sword hanging over his head. It's only a perception from those not within the dressing room. We [the team] know what quality he brings in and his role in the team is very crucial," Kumble said in a press conference in Delhi. Yuvraj has to wait a little longer.

Shouldering South Africa

The whole of cricketing fraternity might have zeroed-in on to the India – Pakistan One day series, where India already secured an unbeatable 3-1 lead or might watch Aussies bulldoze the Lankans on their way to 14^th test match victory in a row under Ricky Ponting’s captaincy; two short of Steve Waugh’s 16 consecutive wins. However on the other part of the world there is a gentleman cricketer piling on agony on his opponents match after match, series after series by scoring centuries one after the other.

Jacques Henry Kallis has just completed his 29^th test century, fifth this season in just four matches with an innings to go, unless otherwise South Africa complete an innings win over New Zealand. His last seven test innings reads 155, 100*, 59, 107*, 29, 186 and 131. He has been an unsung hero when compared to the likes of Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrict, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid or Brian Lara.

The start to his international career was an ordinary one, but Kallis blossomed into arguably one of the world’s leading batsmen with sound defensive technique, and array of cricket book stroke play under his armor. His all round ability with bat and ball and his catching as a specialist slip fielder is a metaphor to eagle’s eye. He is second to none in terms of consistency and rightly so he is trusted with the responsibility of walking in at the all crucial number three position after South African team management tried out various options.

Docile and unemotional in nature, he nailed down the No. 3 position in the South African batting order, and his quality of strokes scaled new highs since then. He has scored over 9000 test runs at a staggering average of 57.74 and also has 219 victims to his name.

A Kallis century tastes a sour flavor, tends to be a soulless affair with mileage taking primacy over bang-bang style, and he has never shown up that he is a selfish cricketer, has covered it up nicely by brining in balance between his interest in his average and his team's position. But whatever might be the case, he has propelled himself to the top of the all-time South African Test batting list.

Kallis until the emergence of Andrew Flintoff, was by some distance the leading all-rounder in the world game along side Sri Lanka’s veteran cricketer Sanath Jayasuria.

His competence with the ball is as good as his with the bat. He is capable of swinging the ball sharply at surprising pace off a relaxed run-up. He can easily clock 140Kmph taking the batsman by surprise and is very reliable in providing breakthroughs.

At the 2007 World Cup Kallis was South Africa’s leading scorer with 475 runs but was sacked for the Twenty20 World Championship later in the year for his style of play. He stood in as captain when Graeme smith was injured and lead the team to whitewash over Zimbabwe but lost the Future Cup against India 1-2. He has played some match winning and match saving knocks for his team over the years. Earlier this year he came to the party when the test series against Pakistan was tied 1-1 with the third test played at Newlands Capetown, he scored a crucial half century after South Africa was four down for 36 runs chasing a target of 161. Not just that, he bolstered his team’s attack in the absence of Shaun Pollock, picked up a match haul of 6 wickets also grabbing the Man-of-the-match award.

His consistency was aptly rewarded as he emerged ICC Test player of the Year 2005 and ICC Player of the Year 2006.

Kallis off the field is a humble person. He has established the Jacques Kallis Scholarship Foundation with the aim to combine the academic and life skills programmes of existing school structures with funding and mentoring support from him. In so doing, the Foundation will provide talented youngsters from all walks of life the opportunity to reach their full sporting and academic potential.

Jumbo Power

For once in the blue moon the selection committee of Indian cricket team has managed to save their faces by appointing veteran Anil Kumble as India’s Test captain. After lots of speculation doing the rounds following Sachin Tendulkar’s refusal to lead the Indian test team, the responsibility of a smooth transition of Indian cricket from older generation to the younger lot falls on the man who has a never say die attitude. The selectors made the right move honoring India’s highest wicket taker ahead of present ODI and T20 captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni who was tipped to be the front runner.

“Better late than never” said Kumble and exactly so, every Indian fan will welcome the decision with big smiles as we all know that he has won more matches for India than anyone else. Kumble highest wicket taker for India in both versions of the game was always under the shades of the big three of Indian cricket when it comes to leadership role. Kumble has cool headed shoulders, his feet firmly on the ground and he is a shrewd thinker of the game.

His determination and will power is unmatched. With broken jaws and plastered all over his face he came out to bowl 14 overs picking the priced wicket of Brian Lara for just four runs in the fourth test match played at St. John’s, Antigua in 2002. That was a heartening sight, a sight of a soldier taking the bullet blow still continuing to fight in the battle field. I still remember, the whole of India was speechless and sleepless as everyone was awaken that night to see Kumble battling it out in what was a drawn encounter.

Though the cricket fraternity seems to be happy with his appointment as captain, I must confess that the appointment for just a series is not a healthy signal. What does that mean? Are the selectors putting Anil Kumble on trial as captain or is that they think only one series is enough to groom Dhoni? It makes no sense to put someone of Kumble’s experience as captain for just one series. Instead, the selectors should have given the nod for the whole season, till home series against South Africa.

Kumble has an impressive record with ball in hand against the Pakistan and Australia. His strike rate against these two nations is slightly better at 58 compared to his overall strike rate of 65. He also commands respect from his fellow players and the youngsters in the team. He appears to be a silent guy but he is a great motivator and can have a calming influence over his team members.

Now while Kumble is happy about captaincy, Dhoni need not fuss over it. The leg spinner has retired from the One-dayers means he is no competitor for Dhoni to lead the One-day side. This will allow Dhoni to concentrate more on his test career as a player and lead the team in the shorter formats with a vision in mind. Kumble - Dhoni combo will be an interesting one as both of them are never short of positive energy and positive thinking.

Kumble and challenges go hand in hand; this time the challenge is to achieve equilibrium between past glory and the future hopes. Captaincy for Kumble also means, he will try and enhance his test career without doubt.

Now that Kumble has been trusted with responsibility, it is time to support him. It is clear that Dhoni will takeover from Rahul Dravid in the long run and Kumble, an ideal nominee, approaching the end of his career has one last but the tricky job on hands to engineer the transition.

Intense Encounter, Not for Weak Hearts

“Bigger than the Ashes” says former Australian pacer and present Pakistan Cricket team coach Geoff Lawson. Hearing that from an Australian who played a part in six Ashes encounters will tell you how intense India-Pakistan Clash is all about. Termed as ‘Mother of all encounters’, ‘Clash of two titans’ and more recently ‘Cricket war with no weapons,’ Indo-Pak series will make every heart beat to its rhythm.

The resumption of bilateral ties between the two rivals in 2004 and the frequency of playing against each other, certainly will not take away the prominence of this series. Try drawing a graph between emotions of the fans and tides in the Indian Ocean, you will not find any variation when the series is on.

India-Pakistan series has always been a defining and deciding series for many cricketers. And this series will be very much the same, especially from India’s point of view. The Indian team has been at the apex and nadir on world cricket at different times this year. They have managed to do the unthinkable twice; first, the first round exit in the World Cup and secondly, winning the Twenty20 World Championship at South Africa. Since the T20 triumph, there has been a huge debate over who should be in and out of the team. The senior pros have been under tremendous pressure to score big to keep their places in the team and the youngsters are ready to make every single chance count.

Last few months Indian cricket has been clouded by uncertainty with selection committee going nowhere with their vision. The players are feeling insecure and its growing rapidly with every sitting of the selection panel. The recently concluded Australian series has provoked the situation even more with the team lacking to put up a fight.

In such a situation, Pakistan tour will be of much importance in constructing the road ahead. With Rahul Dravid already in the sidelines for the first two ODIs there will be enormous pressure on Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar. On the other hand, there are the likes of Dinesh Karthik, Rohit Sharma and S Badrinath waiting to grab their slots in the ODI team.

Sachin Tendulkar who made a mark in international cricket against the same opposition nearly two decades back will once again have to depend on this series to regain supremacy and silence his critics. Ironically, in 1989 he was drafted into the team at the expense of experienced Mohinder Amarnath. Once dropped Amarnath never played a test again for India. This time around Sachin might find himself in such a situation. Same will be the case of his opening partner Sourav Ganguly for whom fitness has always been a question.

Every time these two teams lock horns, it has been a battle between India’s batsmen and Pakistan’s bowlers. It will be no different this time. Pakistan will definitely miss the service of Mohammad Asif. Asif with his wily bowling has always troubled Indian batsmen ever since he made a comeback into the national side when India toured Pakistan last year. His four for in the second innings at Karachi settled the match for Pakistan as well as the series 1-0 in their favor. Since then, Asif leads the Pakistan’s pace attack.

That tour also defined a match winner in India’s RP Singh. Singh who made his test debut in Faisalabad bowled with good pace and bounce and control in a dead pitch, managed to climb four wickets in the first innings and five in the match ultimately earning the man of the match award.

Shoaib Akhtar, though doesn’t deserves to be in the team for his attitude, might be the difference between the two teams with his extra pace. Pakistan also has a decent batting line-up with Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan and Shoaib Malik bolstering the middle order. Salman Butt who has been in and out of the team has always been a certainty when playing against India. Butt has three centuries in his career and all of them have come against their rival team.

On the other hand, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his deputy Yuvraj Singh will be leading batting charts this time. Yuvraj has been in sublime form since the T20 show and will be the backbone of Indian middle order in the absence of Rahul Dravid. Dhoni is another example of players who defined their careers in an India-Pakistan series. In 2004-05, after scores of 0, 12, 7 and 3, he became an overnight hero when he was promoted to number three, smashed the Pakistan bowlers around the park for his 148 in just 123 balls. His average against the rivals is also very healthy compared to his overall average.

Virender Shewag making a comeback into the team also serves special when it comes to playing Pakistan. He is the only Indian to score a triple ton in test cricket and that came against Pakistan. He also has another score of above 250 against them in the longer version and he is in long due for a big one yet again.

India and Pakistan have so much in common, the culture, language, food, and the passion for the game. The battle between the two teams had always been intense and the history says it all. How can one dare to forget the Javed Miandad frog jump, Amair Sohail – Venkatesh Prasad encounter in 1996 World Cup Quarterfinal, Miandad’s last ball six of Chetan Sharma, the bat and ball contest between Sachin Tendulak and Abdul Qadir in 1989 or even the most recent T20 bowl-out as well as Misbah-ul-Haq’s miscue at the hands of Sreesanth in the final.

A history, which has seen epic battles setting one nation in frenzy while the other morns. No doubt, cricket fans across the two nations will be glued to the television sets throughout the series. It doesn’t get any bigger than this!

Art of Winning Key Moments

After the Twenty20 World Cup high, Indians were expected to give the Australians a run for their money in the one day format. Having said that, one was little unsure what kind of an impact will the return of seniors will be on the team, on the field as well as in the dressing room. The expectations from the new captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni were high having seen his magical touch with the thinking cap on in the Twenty20 World Cup. But the question remained of how well he will be able to handle the three former captains in the side. Amidst all this a score line of 4-2 in favor of Australia hardly revels you anything, considering that India managed to have Australia on the mat many a times but failed to slice the initiative.

The sixth one day match at Nagpur provides you with more than one occasion where Australia seized the opportunity to bounce back and successfully delivered the knock-out punch. The first of those occasions was when India managed to grab four wickets with 121 on the board in 22 overs. Certainly at this point of time, the initiative was with India before Sreesanth spilled a costly catch from Andrew Symonds on two. This cost India a dear, the muscle man powered his way to his first century against India. This was his fourth score of above 75 in this series.

One of the other occasions in that Aussie innings was when Dhoni handled the ball to Yuvraj Singh, the over cost 15 runs. This happened after an excellent art of spin bowling by Harbajan Singh and Murali Karthik, both managed to apply the pressure by not conceding boundaries.

Neither captain has enjoyed the new rule of mandatory ball change after 34 overs. And this has undoubtedly taken a toll on Indian bowlers. India gave away 102 runs in the last 10 overs, 57 of them coming in the last five. Once again, for the third time in the first half of the match India lost the momentum.

Chasing 300 plus score India was blessed with a century stand from the most successful opening pair of Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar. The pair added 140 for the first wicket from 25 overs. There on, once again India lost the plot by sending in Irfan Pathan in place of a regular batsman. And in the end overs, the required run rate kept mounting but Indian batsmen couldn’t find boundaries. In the end, India fell short by 18 runs.

Similarly, India got off to good starts but failed to consolidate in the matches played at Bangalore and Kochi. They had Australia at 90 for 4 from 17 overs and 66 for 3 from 16 overs at Bangalore and Kochi respectively. And both those occasions Aussies easily managed a score above 300, clearly shows inconsistency in Indian bowling.

The first ODI was a wash out, but in the second ODI five of the top six Indian batsmen got of to a good start but none of them managed to score a big one.

The Hyderabad ODI saw Yuvraj play a flamboyant knock, but his ton was overshadowed by Aussie brilliance. After 30 overs they had 140 on the board, but runs came thick and fast in the next 20. Aussies managed to pile on another 150 runs in that period.

Australia’s game plan for the Indian batsmen seemed to be the same throughout the series. The Aussie bowlers attacked the off stump channel of the Indian openers and were highly successful in doing so on most of the occasions. Their opening bowlers combined well to haunt the Indian top order getting early breakthroughs, followed by Brad Hogg with his wily spin bowling never allowed Indian scoreboard to tick.

Adam Gilchrist, in one of his columns for a daily before the start of the final ODI in Mumbai mentioned that this is a closely fought series unlike what the score line reads. He said that the Aussies managed to win the key moments. And he is right; they did manage to tilt the balance in their favor every time the situation was even.

India lost the ODI series, but not many Indian fans looked bothered, as all geared up for the much hyped one-off Twenty20 match. A version in which India was crowned World Champions only a few weeks ago, the onus was on the young Indian team to prove that was just for nothing.

Australia taking on World Champions. Now doesn’t that sound odd? Indeed it was and India proved it’s worth the comment by a convincing victory yesterday.

India outplayed Australia in two areas considered to be India’s nightmare. These are running between the wickets and fielding. Such a display has prompted the Aussie captain Ricky Ponting to say that they are willing to play this young Indian team more often in the future. A comment like this can create unwanted pressure and speculations among the Indian news channels, known for their no sense hype.

Spoon feeding them for a chance of speculation was young Robin Uthappa, addressing the pre-match press conference, he said, the dressing room atmosphere is lot more comfortable. What does that really mean? Well, no one knows, and all we have to do is wait for the high voltage Pakistan series to kick start.

Meanwhile, one should not forget the way Australians exhibited their brand of cricket. They have simply mastered the art of winning the 50-50 moments.

Inzamam - The Benevolent Servant of the Game

Pakistan tour of India in 2005, third test match at Bangalore, trailing by 0-1 Pakistan was under tremendous pressure of a second straight series loss to India in a span of one year beckoning. Winning the toss and electing to bat Pakistan lost their openers with just seven runs on the board, walked in the skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq with a cool head. Looking to occupy the crease with Younis Khan for his company, Inzamam started with a cautious fifty, there on he only varied his tempo and not the temperament. He exploded the Indian attack to all corners with some beautiful drives with sheer timing and his trademark back-foot cut. On reaching his 21st century, he was picking singles at will before Lakshmipathy Balaji trapped him leg before first ball of the second day’s play. But by then with Younis Khan, he had put Pakistan well on their way to a series-leveling win. And this is Inzamam at his best for you.

Inzy is a man of strength and delicacy. Powerful hitting should be no surprise, but his sublime touch when on song is remarkable for a man of his bulk. He hates exercising and often looks a passenger on the field, but with a willow in his hands he is Rahul Dravid of Pakistan – the Wall.

There are many other Inzy moments, the 1992 World Cup semi-final knock against New Zealand, the Multan one wicket win over Bangladesh, power steering knock of 122 against India in Karachi ODI where they lost by just 5 runs chasing 350 and a marathon knock of 329 against Kiwis in a test match. Each and everyone of his knock have one thing in common – a calming influence on the scoreboard and a breadth easy dressing room atmosphere.

He led Pakistan with dignity and was successful in earning respect from his boys as well – a rarity in Pakistan dressing room. He had a calming effect on the boys getting them to give their best every time they took the field. His above mentioned knock in Bangalore in his 100th test match brought out the leader in him.

He didn’t have a good physic; with his overweight body led to names such as ‘aloo’ he was a comic character on the field. Popular for his bizarre running between the wickets, he was good in compensating that with his willowy blows. He was the backbone of the Pakistan middle order for a longtime though never had the necessity to be a lone warrior. He was well supported by Javid Miandad, Salim Malik, Imran Khan, Saeed Anwar, Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan throughout his career. He neither had the pressure as what Sachin Tendulkar or Sourav Ganguly or Rahul Dravid face from their fans.

His conversion rate of centuries into a match winning one is also very good compared to some of his compatriots with 17 out of 25 resulting in a win. However, his ODI record isn’t that great, showing a sense of under achievement. Playing 378 ODIs, most for a Pakistani, he only managed 10 centuries with an average a shade under 40. Though he had the potential to anchor an innings, he preferred playing lower down the order and was criticized by many former cricketers for not taking the leading role.

In a long career as his, hardly anyone can escape poor form. He was no exception. He was also dodged with poor form especially during the 2003 World Cup where he managed a mere 16 runs from six innings with Pakistan knocked out in the first round.

On the other hand, he wasn’t always under the good books; he also faced a fair share of criticism and clouded with controversy. He had a few spats with Shoaib Akhtar which resulted in some unrest in the team for sometime. And his last one year of international cricket hasn’t been good either. Defeat at the hands of Ireland sealed the World Cup for Pakistan in the Caribbean, an event overshadowed by Bob Woolmer death. The team was under immense pressure, with being blamed for Woolmer’s death and police enquiry, he passed one of the most difficult phases of his life.

He was also blamed for influencing religion within the team and the last one year one saw more of emotional Inzamam than anything else.

Clearly he shouldn’t be remembered for every thing that has happened in the last one year. For a career that spanned for 15 years it is natural that a stain or two happens to stick on. One has to salute the courage and the greatness in him to fight out all that he came across to sign off with a smile.

Tale of Two Unsung Heroes

Big shoulders and stylish stroke play are their common features. One is the opening bat; the other a strong middle order player, can relish any bowling attack on their respective days. Both playing for different teams, have been in and out of the team throughout their career.

The reasons are plenty; Mathew Hayden who made his debut long ago in 1994 was overshadowed by the presence of players like Mark Waugh, Mark Taylor and Michel Slater through most of his career. So was the case of our very own VVS Laxman who kick started his career in 1996 played under the shades of Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammed Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. Their agility on the field was always under the scanner and for the same they were in the side lines of the one-day team for most part of their career.

Everyone have their day of delight, a turning point rather sooner or later in their career. And for these two style icons, the chance to hog the limelight came in 2001 when Australia toured India under the captaincy of Steve Waugh.

Since the day Hayden landed in India, he slog-swept his way to glory by piling 549 runs in that series, then an Australian record for a three match series.

Landing in India, Australians where on a roll, on their winning streak of 15 tests and managed to win their sixteenth in Mumbai trashing India by 10 wickets. It didn’t take any time for ‘Haydos’ to stamp his mark as he steered the Australian first innings with a dominant century. Then he powered his way to a double hundred in Chennai in the final test with some fearless batting where the rest of his teammates struggled against Harbajhan Singh.

Matthew Hayden is 36, yet his eyes have the sharpness of an eagle, highly successful in dispatching the ball to all corners of the ground. It’s raining runs since his latest comeback to the one day team. He scored a whirlwind 181 against Kiwis, an Australian record for the highest individual score in ODIs just before the World Cup. That enabled him to book his tickets for the Caribbean tour. He scored three centuries ending the tournament as the highest run getter with 659 runs. He along with Adam Gilchrist made sure that their team drives in top gear every time they go out to bat. He is already the top run scorer ODIs for the calendar year 2007, way ahead of the rest in the list.

He also managed to top score in the recently concluded Twenty20 World Cup which was supposed to be a young men’s game.

All this came from a man who was dropped from both test and ODI teams in the year 2005 and got to play just two ODI since then till 2007. So what is Matthew Hayden’s Strength? Get a closer look again, you will find out that ‘strength’ is his strength. He is very strong in character, both mentally and physically.

Mental strength is VVS Laxman’s forte. He is no different from Hayden, used to many comebacks and managed to make it big the same time along with Hayden in the same series in 2001. His knock in that second innings of the Kolkata test match turned it all, once for ever. His majestic knock of 281 not just helped India to win that test and level the series but they went on to win the series by winning in Chennai as well. Doing so, he beleaguered Steve Waugh’s thought of being invincible Australians stopping the Aussie juggernaut of 16 consecutive test wins.

Hayden, part of two World Cup winning teams, Laxman was overlooked by the selectors should consider himself unlucky.

At his sublime best, watching Laxman play is something that every connoisseur of the game would like to. Wristy and willoy he can grace the cricket field with his wide range of strokes. He belongs to those rare breed of players who are good at hitting the same delivery on either side of the field. And when he does that even the opposition forgets that they are at the receiving end. His presence on the crease is a luxury and at time his stroke play even bettered Tendulkar’s.

Presently a regular in India’s test team when they play with four bowlers finds himself out when they opt for five bowlers. Whatever is the composition of the team that will not be the case when India takes on Australia down under in a couple of months.

His nickname is ‘Very Very Special’ and he stores his special for the Australians. With the tour of down under on the cards it will be no surprise if he makes yet another strong comeback. Watch out!